Steel plates and other plate surfaces are seldom perfectly flat, but have irregularities which extend in both the longitudinal and transverse directions of the plate or in a combination of such directions. Such irregularities may be caused by warpage or result from heating, rolling and/or quenching operations during processing of the plate. These irregularities may manifest themselves as undulations which extend across the width and/or the length of the plate.
Steel plates and the like are often cut or beveled by using a flame cutting means such as blowpipes, cutting torches, flame-severing, flame-beveling, oxygen burner, oxyacetylene or the like. Ordinarily the flame cutting means is attached to an arm which in turn is attached to a carriage. The carriage moves along a track or templet dependent on the particular shape to be cut from the plate.
During a flame cutting or beveling operation the distance between the flame cutter and the work to be cut should remain relatively constant as the flame cutter moves relative to the work. Obviously if the work surface includes undulations or irregularities such distance may vary. As a result the efficiency and accuracy may be adversely affected by varying the distance between the flame cutter and the work surface.